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(NoModeL) I S. B. KEPPER.

HEEL 0R COUNTER SUPPORT FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. No. 268,497;

Patented Dec. 5, 1882,

N. PEYEHS, munmw Wasifington. n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SIMON B. KEFFER, OF DES MOINES, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE HALF TO STACYJOHNS, OF SAME PLACE.

HEEL OR COUNTER SUPPORT FOR BOOTS AND SHOES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 268,497, dated December5, 182. Application filed March 16, 1852. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SIMON B. KEFFER, of Des Moines, in the county ofPolk and State of Iowa, have invented a Counter-Support and ImprovedBoots and Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to facilitate and improve the constructionof boots and shoes by forming and applying metal heel-stiffeners toprevent the counters from yielding to lateral pressure and allowing thefeet of the wearer to assume inclined or twisted positions relative toeach other, to retain the heels of boots and shoes straight, so thatthey will wear off evenly, and to avoid the dangers and accidentsincident to wearing boots and shoes that have broken-down-counters andcrooked, uneven heels, and also to conceal the metal plates andstilfeners and to prevent them from chafing the heels of the wearer.

Herctofore a heel-stifiening metal plate and counter-support has beenfastened against the outside of a heel in .such amanner thatit wouldextend over the counter and down under the edge of the heel to form apart of the hearing of the heel, A plate having flexible pointed tangsextending at right angles therefrom has also been fastened against theoutside of a heel by driving the tangs into the heel. A steel platehaving a perforated flange at its bottom and a perforation in its tophas also been fixed to the inside of a counter in such a manner that itsflange extended horizontally between the inner and outer soles, to befastened by means of nails driven downward throughthe perforations intothe heel. But a metal plate formed and applied to the outside of a bootor shoe is unsightly, liable to catch and retain dirt, and is notadapted to be fixed to the inside or between the counter and the upperor outside leather; and a metal plate fixed to the inside of a counterand having a flange extending horizontally between the inner and outersoles is liable to chafe the heel of the wearer, and'is not adapted tobe fixed to the outside of the counter-piece and combined with the innersole and the upper or outside leather by means'ot' nails while lastingthe boot or shoe, as contemplated by my invention,which consistsinforming an elbowshaped plate in such a manner that it can be nailed fastbetween the insole and counter and the upper or outside leather, andcovered by the counter on the inside to prevent contact with and chafingof the heel of the wearer, as

hereinafter fully'set forth, in such a manner that it will be invisibleand close to the heel of the wearer, to serve as an elbow-shaped leverin utilizing the weight and pressure of the person and foot insupporting the counter in a vertical position and maintaining the bootor shoe, and also the foot, straight, square, and fiat upon the groundor floor, as required to support weak ankles and to wear off the bottomsevenly.

Figure 1 of my accompanying drawings is a top view of a blank cut from asteel plate by means of a suitable die and press or forged fromametalbar. a is aflat circular-shaped top end adapted to fit against theheel'counter of a boot or shoe. 1) is the lower end, of correspondingform, perforated and adapted to be fixed against the underside of theheel portion of an insole, to clamp the edges of the counter and theinsole together. 0 is the connecting central portion between the flatparts a and Z2. It has a slot, d, to allow nails to be driven through,and is madethicker than the flat ends a and b to increase its strength.

Fig. 2is a modified form of my blank ab 0 (Z,

in which the connecting part 0 is widened, andhas two slots, d, throughwhich nails may be driven in fixing it to a bootor shoe.

Fig. 3 represents the blank bent and complete. In place of forming andbending wrought metal to produce my counter-supports, they may be madeof malleable iron or other suitable material by casting them in molds.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a boot-heel, and illustrates mymanner ofapplying my countersupport by combining it with the counter and insoleand concealing it with the upper and outside portion of the leather andthe complete heel. f represents the counter, and g the heel portion ofan insole fixed to a last in a com- 5 mon way. My counter-support a b cd is then placed in position, as shown, in sucha manner that the topportion, a, will extend vertically on the outside of the counter and thelower portion, 1), horizontally inward and un- :00

der the counter to lap upon the insole. After being thus placed thethree partsthe metal counter-support, the counter, and the insolearefastened together by means of nails 1 2 be- 5 in g driven through theperforations in the metal and into the leather counter and insole andclinched fast therein. The heel partof the upper-leather is then drawnin place over the counter and metal counter-support and fastxo ened bymeans of pegs or nails driven through the leather at the sides andthrough the slots of the metal counter-support, to firmly unite all theparts while lasting a boot or shoe.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a boot having [5 apart of its heelremoved to show the position of my invisible counter-support, indicatedby an outline of its form in broken lines.

I claim as my invention An improved metallic counter-support for bootsand shoes, consisting of a metal plate 20 of the form shown anddescribed,and provided with perforations at one end and with alongitudinal slot or slots in its central bent or curved portion, allsubstantially as and for the purposes stated.

SIMON B. KEFFER.

Witnesses:

STACY J onus, GYRUs KIRK.

